Happy 20th Anniversary Sega Saturn!

20 years after the bungled launch of Sega’s much-maligned yet also beloved Saturn console, we review the best games and our favorite memories

Game Sack – The Sega Saturn

Launched to everyone’s surprise May 11, 1995, the Sega Saturn is best remembered for its also-ran status to Nintendo’s Nintendo 64 and Sony’s Playstation. Totally solid in its own right, the Sega Saturn was a 2d powerhouse, churning out arcade-perfect renditions of X-Men: Children of the Atom (playable with RAM cart and Japanese converter) and other Capcom classics. JRPGs from Working Designs, like Dragon Force, and strategy games like Iron Storm, took up hours of my time. Nights, Guardian Heroes, Virtua Fighter, the House of the Dead, Grandia, Sakura Taisen, and Grandia were just a few classics that come to mind when thinking about the Saturn. Playstation was the 3d powerhouse of the generation and the Nintendo 64 offered the best 3d gaming experiences so the Sega Saturn felt somewhat left behind, trapped between the 16-bit generation and the new 32-bit generation. Like the Sega CD, the Sega Saturn had an impressive library of Japanese games which were a must for any fan of anime and manga. Released before anyone expected and gone too soon, the Sega Saturn occupies an interesting spot in video game console history that celebrates the transition of video games from the earlier sprite-based era to the fully polygon graphics of the modern era.